02/09/2022 - 14:31
Social services. The new programme contract for 2022-2025 represents 20% more investment than in the previous period.
The new programme contract for 2022-2025 represents 20% more investment than in the previous period. The agreement between the Catalan government’s Ministry of Social Rights and Barcelona City Council envisages for two notable initiatives: the fight against homelessness and the tele-assistance service.
Twenty-three million euros are to go towards implementing public policies for preventing the social exclusion of homeless people. The new agreement will also enable the consolidation of social-innovation projects that had been launched as pilot tests.
The commitment to a new home-assistance model continues, thanks to an investment of 7.1 million euros. The aim is to develop towards an advanced tele-assistance through cutting-edge technology in the areas of support and care.
The new agreement is adding an extra 10.4 million euros to its staff budget. This will be used for improving employment conditions and consolidating 164 social workers, who were recruited in 2021 to deal with the impact of the pandemic. A further 17 will be recruited by 2025 along with a steady incorporation of other profiles, including psychologists and jurists.
Other budget items include: 74.1 million euros towards funding basic social-assistance teams; 9.7 million euros for social and educational intervention services; 25.5 million euros for children- and teenager-assistance teams and 9 million euros for social-emergency aid. In addition, 368,400 euros will be allocated to the Zero Km Ageing Programme which works to boost elderly people’s capacities and personal independence to encourage their socialisation.
The amount allocated to Barcelona represents 28.15% of the 1.385 billion euros that the Catalan Ministry of Social Rights has provided for 111 municipal councils with over 20,000 residents, county councils and other supra-municipal bodies.
